The instance back features an engraving of the logo of Oracle Team USA, and the strap is black untreated leather with contrasting red and blue stitching. Price for the Panerai Luminor 1950 Oracle Team USA 3 Days Chrono Flyback Automatic Ceramica PAM 725 is US $15,300. Again, the title tells you a lot of what you want to learn more about the watch. Otherwise, you can read our coverage of the original model. It comes from Panerai’s larger 47mm Luminor 1950 style case, constructed of titanium, and contains a flyback chronograph fitted with a Regatta countdown mechanism. Water resistance can also be 100 meters.The motion is the P.9100/R and the Regatta countdown mechanism could be actuated by the pusher at 4 o’clock. Pressing on it causes the central chronograph minute hand to return into one-minute jumps, allowing it to be put to the right countdown position for the race.Like the other watches seen up to now, the Panerai Luminor 1950 Regatta Oracle Team USA 3 Days Chrono Flyback Automatic Titanio 47mm has an appealing reddish and blue color scheme. To guarantee legibility, the central chronograph seconds hand is left in blue whereas the central moments hand is red. At 9 o’clock is a sub-dial for its running moments, which has a blue hand and now at 3 o’clock we possess the sub-dial documenting the elapsed hours, and that includes a red hand. Again, the ring is black untreated leather and features contrasting red and blue stitching.

For once, more than whatever minor design tweak has spawned a new Panerai reference, it is how the watch is being sold that is most notable. The Panerai Luminor Submersible Automatic Acciaio PAM731, with its limited-edition blue dial, is most certainly a handsome and capable dive watch. But, as the first Panerai to be offered exclusively online, it is representative of some pressing current issues and how the watch industry is, very slowly, adapting to change.

Panerai already sells watches online, but the Panerai Limited Edition Watches Replica Luminor Submersible Automatic Acciaio PAM731 “E-Commerce Micro-Edition,” limited to 100 pieces, cannot be bought in stores – and that is a first for Panerai. Time and again, we have discussed the systemic problems of the watch industry here on aBlogtoWatch, especially in relation to sales and distribution, and the watch industry’s failure to accept, use, and adapt to the modern reality of online purchasing. This means in terms of media and advertising as well as moving toward direct online sales instead of relying solely on third-party retailers. The current outdated wholesale distribution model along with an inventory glut has allowed the gray market to not only undercut luxury watch pricing but also undermine the all-important commodity that is consumer trust. You can find many articles on these and related subjects on our Watch Business topic page here.

So, while the Panerai Luminor Submersible Automatic Acciaio PAM731 “E-Commerce Micro-Edition” watch might look like one degree in the 90-degree turn that is necessary for the industry, it is at least in the right direction. And it is in the company of other signs that more brands are finally waking up. Examples such as the Omega Speedmaster “Speedy Tuesday” limited-edition watch made for Fratellowatches.com and their #speedytuesday Instagram hashtag having sold out in four hours must at least get the brands’ attention. The convenience, competitiveness, and comfort of the online buying experience for customers makes the transition to a proper online presence necessary for any watch brand that wants to survive.

What is so fascinating about this version is that from all special, military dedicated watches which Panerai makes, this one got it’s own PAM variety — PAM664. This is a bit unexpected having in mind that this watch is exclusive to Royal Navy’s serving clearance divers only. Another interesting truth is that every one the watches have been picked up at Harrods. Maybe that is the main reason why this piece has it’s own PAM number.Panerai PAM664 has been restricted to just 50 pieces which makes this watch much more extraordinary. Sales of this model were performed in strictly “first come, first served” basis and the sole condition was that you needed to prove that you are serving member together with the Clearance Diving branch of Royal Navy so as to get one of these beauties. This is really wise move by Panerai, as in today’s market when a watch is promoted with the small hint of heritage or history — truth to such claims will either break or make the watch. I’d say that Panerai has succeeded with this limited PAM664.Automatic OP III movement with date located at the 3 o’clock position and tiny seconds sub dial at 9 was utilized with this watch. OP III is already proven to be exact, reliable and robust, so I would say the selection was place on.While Panerai’s dive watches always remind us of Panerai’s tight link with Italian Royal Navy and back to the WWII groups of torpedo crews that proved so devastating against Allied naval forces, so there’s absolutely no sign of awkwardness in a contemporary venture with the Royal Navy. For one thing, there has ever been great respect between military divers for the risks involved; at the least in the early days of the 1940s.

I’ve seen some auctions where Panerai 366 Limited Edition Replica PAM644 was sold for several tens of thousand pounds. In May, number 42 of 50 was sold for #32,600. Also, one ebay.co.uk auction (number 40/50) had winning bid of #28,500. You will agree that’s great to get a wristwatch that typically prices #8,050. Special edition watches that are only sold in boutiques or made in limited amounts are a fantastic way for watch brands to acquire lovers and watch lovers excited. Exclusivity is frequently a large deciding factor when it comes to a watch buy, and there’s no better method of producing exclusivity than by releasing a wristwatch in restricted numbers and notably at a colorway or design that collectors yearn for. Few watch manufacturers are as proficient at this game as Panerai is, having had a series of hits with previous special edition watches. Now, there are three more to add on that list with the new Panerai PAM 735 Radiomir 8 Days Titanio, the PAM 736 Radiomir 1940 3 Day Acciaio, and the PAM 737 Luminor 1950 Chrono Monopulsante GMT Titanio.To be sure, these are not brand new watches using new movements. Instead, they are various versions of current versions. But what makes them noteworthy is their deep green dials. This is not the first time that Panerai obtained collectors excited with a simple color change. Last year, they did the same with four special edition watches which came with metallic blue dials. Now, let’s get in these brand new watches.

So, what about the watch that is the vehicle for this discussion? Blue dials always seem like a good choice for limited editions because they look a little special and are a less conservative option than, say, black. The Panerai Luminor Submersible Automatic Acciaio PAM731 (PAM00731) has a blue dial but is otherwise more or less like the black-dialed PAM01024. At 44mm wide in steel (acciaio means “steel” in Italian – though don’t ask me how to pronounce it) and water-resistant to 300m, the Panerai Luminor Submersible PAM731 has the Luminor’s cushion-shaped case with signature crown guard device, and the rotating brushed steel bezel quickly identifies it as a Luminor Submersible and unmistakably as a dive watch.

Behind a solid caseback, the Panerai Luminor Submersible PAM731 watch is powered by the “exclusive” caliber OP XXX, a COSC-certified automatic movement beating at 4Hz (28,800bph) with 50 hours of power reserve. It offers the time with a sub-seconds at 9 o’clock and the date at 3 o’clock which has a “cyclops” magnifier over it on the sapphire crystal. Skeletonized hour and minute hands are familiar for Luminor Submersible watches, and Super-LumiNova, even for the seconds hand and its indices, is sufficient for a dive watch. It comes on a black caoutchouc (natural rubber) strap as well as with an additional canvas strap and strap-changing tool.

While it seems like merely a cautious experiment at this stage, this “E-Commerce Micro-Edition” watch is hopefully a sign of a greater overall transition for the watch industry that we have been advocating for a long time. It is a step in the right direction, but a lot more aggressive action is still needed. The Panerai Luminor Submersible Automatic Acciaio PAM731 watch itself has a price of $7,200, but with currently no “Purchase” button on the website, and only options like “notify me when available” and “add to wishlist,” it seems that all 100 may have already sold out. panerai.com